Compass Annual Report 2011-2012

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Transcript of Compass Annual Report 2011-2012

Compass OnlineWebsiteOur website has been an excellent platform to have online discussions, access publications, find out about events and importantly organise for offline actions and events (http://www.compassonline.org.uk/)Excitingly we will launching a new website in the new year so watch this space!Social MediaCompass staff and groups use social media tools including Facebook and Twitter to publicise events, publications, news, engage in debates and organise for offline action.

Action: 'Like' us on Facebookhttp://www.facebook.com/CompassGoodSocietyFollow us on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/compassoffice Check if a Compass group near you has a Facebook group http://www.compassonline.org.uk/about/local_groups.aspLocal GroupsWe have 14 local Compass groups all over the UK

Local groups organise events, discussions, link up with other like-minded groups and work towards making a good society a reality where they live.ACTION: To get in touch with a group organiser and get involved in your local group, or organise a Compass local group yourself, click below

http://www.compassonline.org.uk/about/local_groups.aspEventsCampaignsPublicationsMedia coverageCompass in Wales and ScotlandEducation for the Good SocietyBy Neal Lawson & Ken SpoursPlan B: A Good Economy for a Good SocietyBy Neal Lawson & Howard ReedWhat Britain Can Learn from the German Economic RecoveryBy Joe CoxThe Conservative DilemmaBy Jon Trickett MPPlan B for YouthBy Lisa Nandy MPWhy Labour Should Back a Financial Transactions TaxEurope and the Good Society: After the CrashBy Neal Lawson & Thorben Albrecht"In the face of fundamental change sweeping across the education system there is an urgent need for an alternative vision based on collaboration, not competition."http://clients.squareeye.net/uploads/compass/documents/COM0972_Education_for_Good_Society_WEB.pdf"There is no point ‘fixing the deficit’ only to returnto ‘business as usual’. Instead we need reform in the short term that will boost the chances of recovery of a sort that can in the longer-term create a different type of economy for a good society."http://clients.squareeye.net/uploads/compass/documents/Compass_Plan_B_web.pdf"The two vital factors that have enabled the Germany economic model two flourish are firstly, the German state knows that it inevitably has a vital role in determining the economic future of the country and does not shy away from this. Secondly, Germany has institutions and institutional arrangements which can embed and control capital to ensure it is harnessed to work in the interests of society."http://clients.squareeye.net/uploads/compass/documents/Compass%20Plan%20B_2.pdf"Beneath the suave exteriors, the blue silk ties and Savile Row suits, sophisticated dinner parties, the faux bonhomie and the coded sentences, tribal hatreds threaten to consume sections of the leadership of the Conservative Party."http://clients.squareeye.net/uploads/compass/documents/Compass%20Plan%20B_2.pdf"We believe that acting now to create an economy and society in which young people have educational and work opportunities, home and job security and a genuine share in political power is both imperative and possible; the alternative is unthinkable."http://clients.squareeye.net/uploads/compass/documents/COM1762_PlanB_Youth_report_170712_Webproof.pdf"The Labour Party has to make its position clear, does it stand with a small number of vested interests in the City of London or with the majority of the British people and elected politicians of all colours in Europe? It can no longer avoid making this decision."http://clients.squareeye.net/uploads/compass/documents/Compass%20FTT%20final.pdf"We need each other. The founders of the post war vision of Europe trusted that economic freedom would lead to social and political justice. It hasn’t worked out that way. Policies for social and political justice must now come first."http://clients.squareeye.net/uploads/compass/documents/COMJ191compass%20building%20good%20society%20FINAL%20.pdfThinkpiecesFrom Vision to Agency: Lessons from Gramsci on Political Mobilisation"It is important to avoid the trap of rushing into reinventing the wheel, and instead to begin by reviewing what intellectual resources are already available to us. For me the richest source of all remains Antonio Gramsci."Alan O'Sheahttp://clients.squareeye.net/uploads/compass/documents/Thinkpiece%2069%20%20Vision%20to%20Agency.pdfTowards a New Union..?Owen Smith MPhttp://clients.squareeye.net/uploads/compass/documents/Compass%20Thinkpiece%2070%20New%20Union.pdf"Bevan said that we should ‘win power to give it away’, a renewed vision of English devolution would satisfy that test and might also breathe life into the constitution of the Union that has provided political, economic and social security for Britain for 300 years past and, with luck, 300 to come."Our Direction is Our Destination: Leading in Our Good SocietyVeena Vasistahttp://clients.squareeye.net/uploads/compass/documents/Our%20Direction%20Thinkpiece%2071.pdf"Our good society is not some place out there that we are going to get to via a detailed plan/map drawn up by a small number of people. Our good society exists in all of us – it is a seed we all carry, that can lead us in how we move through and experience the world."Progressive Protectionism: the only effective challenge to neoliberalismColin Hineshttp://clients.squareeye.net/uploads/compass/documents/Progressive%20Protectionism%20Thinkpiece%2072.pdf"Winston Churchill identified a stable society as the balance required between what he termed the ladder and the net. The present ‘Crisis of Capitalism’ has made clear that the ladder has rungs that need to be brought very much closer together and the net dramatically strengthened –progressive protectionism could achieve just that."The Challenge for Progressives: change the discourseTimothy Davieshttp://clients.squareeye.net/uploads/compass/documents/Change%20the%20Discourse%20Compass%20Thinkpiece%2073.pdf"Until and unless progressives directly challenge the dominant neoliberal discourse, it will continue to provide the frame through which all political issues are viewed."Waking up to the cost of inequality: a note for Labour's policy reviewSteve Griffithshttp://clients.squareeye.net/uploads/compass/documents/The%20Cost%20of%20Inequality%20Compass%20Thinkpiece%2074.pdf"Most contemporary political discourse operates with expectations of its audience that are ratcheted down several yards; and with a thick fog over history beyond five years past, illuminated by shafts of light from selective or imagined memory, much of it framed by dominant and skewed media: a national story often reduced to a series of scare stories."Freedom TodayNick Stevensonhttp://clients.squareeye.net/uploads/compass/documents/Freedom%20Compass%20Thinkpiece%2075.pdf"From the Arab Spring to the Occupy movement, concerns about the rights of humans has emerged as a genuinely global movement. Here despite attempts by the globe’s super power to present itself as bringing human rights to dark continents this venture has failed in the full view of millions of citizens."Compass Local GroupsEast KentSW LondonNewhamNorwichScotlandWalesLeedsLiverpoolManchesterNewcastleSouth NottinghamNorth NottinghamBristolBirmingham28 events15 events outside London4 party conferencesHere are some highlights of the yearEvents20122013Radical approaches to educationhttp://www.compassonline.org.uk/news/item.asp?n=16511Plan B for Wales25 October 2012http://www.compassonline.org.uk/news/item.asp?n=1622308 December 2012Compass supports the TUC March: A Future That Works20 October 2012Labour Party Conferencehttp://www.compassonline.org.uk/news/item.asp?n=16079http://www.compassonline.org.uk/news/item.asp?n=16039Can the Tories Ever Win Again?20 June 2012http://www.compassonline.org.uk/news/item.asp?n=15334Annual Lecture 2012 - The Craft of Cooperation by Professor Richard Sennett26 March 201230 September - 4 October 2012Compass Annual Report 2011-2012Welcome to Compass' Annual Report! We thought we would try something different this year so just click the right arrow to view the presentation! If you want to enlarge any of the text you can zoom in by clicking on it. Many slides have web links to publications, thinkpieces, photos and audio recordings, which you can view by clicking on the links. There are also various actions throughout the presentation so get involved where you can. Enjoy!The following report outlines the main work and progress of Compass from early October 2011 to December 2012.For legal requirements we are required to file an annual report for the financial year which runs from March-March. For the benefit of members we’ve included an update to December 2012, when this report was written.Compass Education GroupThank you!Highlight EventsHighlight CampaignsCompass Youthhttp://www.chooseyouth.org/Generations Unitedhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/sep/30/generations-united-for-better-societyhttp://99percentblog.org/Thinkpieces are opinion pieces written by Compass members and supporters, about issues they feel passionate about. They are all available for free, so if you want to read them just click on the links!Action: If there is an issue you feel passionate about and would like to write a thinkpiece we would love to hear from you. Please email info@compassonline.org.ukhttp://www.facebook.com/CompassCymruhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Compass-Scotland/395124637209417?ref=ts&fref=tsCompass has a presence in Wales and Scotland in which local groups hold events, debates and discussions about national and devolved politics. If you would like to find out more please visit them online (links below). You can join the Compass Cymru group by clicking the Google group link below:This group was formed in 2010 and is dedicated to creating an education system for a good society. In the next section you can see one of its recent popular events - 'Radical Approaches to Education'. The group has around 200 members, and if you would like to find out more and get involved please email info@compassonline.org.ukCompass holds regular events throughout the year, all over the country. Upcoming events can be viewed at http://www.compassonline.org.uk/events/Click the video to watch the lectureTo listen to a full recording of the talk click here:To listen to the Compass rally click here:And to listen to our One Nation Labour event, click here:To read more about the event and see more photos click here:To read more about the event and listen to recordings click here:Compass marched from St Paul's Cathedral to Hyde Park, with thousands of others, to fight against austerity and for a good society. For more photos of the day click here:http://www.flickr.com/photos/63739098@N05/This year Compass Youth had 26 events. To read more about its activist training day, click here:http://www.compassyouth.org/compass-youth-events/compass-youth-training-day-reflections-political-organising/Compass Youth is for Compass members who are under 30. If you want to find out more about Compass Youth (and get involved) please visit the website, Facebook and Twitter:http://www.compassyouth.org/http://www.facebook.com/CompassYouthUK?ref=ts&fref=tshttps://twitter.com/CompassYouthUKOur campaigns continue to be effective in reaching out to new audiences, building newalliances and bringing about real political change. We have grown our online supportersdatabase by over 15,000 this year largely as a result of our campaigning. This growing database of supporters allows our online and offline actions to have a greater impact. It also makes Compass more sustainable as it broadens our donor base.This popular campaign called for the Government to impose a levy on the Big Six, with funds raised ring-fenced to help people with their energy costs, prioritizing those living in fuel poverty, by making homes more energy efficient (amongst other things).

The campaign gained widespread media coverage and cross party support in parliament. It has also helped to change the narrative around energy in the UK.

To sign the petition visit http://www.endthebigsixenergyfix.org.ukPlan B: a good economy for a good society launched with a front page splash and gained the support of 100 economists.

We have continued to campaign for a Plan B based on green investment and increased social security. We followed up the successful launch with events across the country.

To sign the petition visit http://action.compassonline.org.uk/planbWe have produced several influential and thought-provoking reports this year. They are all available to view for free online. The next few slides will go though the publications, if you wish to view them please click on the links provided.We have had a strong media presence, with Plan B and End The Big 6 Energy Fix receiving much attention. Some other highlights of the year include...How should political parties get their funding?25 November 2011"State funding is an important part of the funding of politics, but I don't think we should get away from the fact that political parties ought to be able to inspire membership and donations. Progressive parties ought to be going out there inspiring people with visions of different, better societies that people then personally want to pay for through the state system.""The goal of our education system cannot be to produce more hedge fund managers that carve up the country in their interest, divide the few from the many and then wreck everything we hold dear. The failure of that economic system means the end of the education system that flowed from it. It is time for something new and something better."A new comprehensive vision for education19 November 2012What is the 'public interest' and how do we reclaim it?31 January 2012"What we have lost is the notion that there is anything bigger than us, that brute bad luck and misfortune can be shared and that the weight of the world is too much for us to stand alone. What replaced is it is a cold calculus of self-interest and self-worth. A world in which the citizen is trumped by the consumer."

The Independent High Pay Commission was established by Compass in autumn 2010 and reported its extensive findings in 2011.

The HPC has completely changed the national debate around high pay. Labour backed the High Pay Commission proposals in full and the Government responded with its own proposals. These reforms alone are unlikely to be enough but a corner has definitely been turned.

The final report is available to read at http://highpaycentre.org/files/Cheques_with_Balances.pdf

The High Pay Centre is continuing this important work monitoring pay at the top of the income distribution. To learn more, click herehttp://highpaycentre.org/Highlights:We recommend opening the presentation in full screen mode by clicking the button on the bottom-right hand side. To move to the next slide just click the right arrow.Financial ReportTo view the 2011-12 financial report click here:http://clients.squareeye.net/uploads/compass/documents/Compass%20Financial%20Report%202011-2012.pdfGet involvedTo help make a Good Society a reality join Compass today for as little as £1 a monthhttp://www.compassonline.org.uk/join/Visit our website:http://www.compassonline.org.uk/Like us on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/CompassGoodSocietyFollow us on Twitter:https://twitter.com/CompassOfficehttp://www.facebook.com/CompassCymruhttp://groups.google.com/group/compass-cymruCompass would not be the powerful pressure group it is without its dedicated members, supporters, local group organisers, activists, volunteers and Management Committee.

Us at the Compass office, (Neal, Rosie and Joe) would like to say a big thank you to all of you for your commitment and generosity. As a democratic organisation, your time, donations, votes and input are vital to ensure we remain true to our values to making a good society a reality.To Join the debate:Compass is an ideas and action based pressure group with over 50,000 members and supporters around the country.

We are committed to help build a GoodSociety; one in which there is far greater social, political and economic equality.

We organise regular events and conferences that provide real space to discuss policy, we produce thought provoking pamphlets and we encourage debate through our website. We campaign, take positions and lead the debate on key political issues.

We are a membership organisation that is led by a network of activists who want to make a Good Society a reality. By developing a coherent and strong voice - we can collectively create radical social change for those who believe in greater equality, democracy and sustainability in our world.